LISTEN | SA's salons await court's verdict on reopening

Since the implementation of the lockdown on March 27, many people have lost their jobs and sources of income. Among those affected are hairdressers who are self-employed and owners of small informal businesses who solely depend on the money they receive from clients. 

LISTEN TO WHY SALON OWNERS WANT TO OPEN THEIR SALONS:

With beauty treatment services still strictly prohibited, they are disadvantaged as their businesses do not qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

The Employers Organisation for Hairdressing Cosmetology and Beauty (EOHCB) put together a petition and got overwhelming support from the industry and clients to reopen salons. Their efforts, however, did not persuade the government to ease the restrictions.

However, it seems there might be light at the end of a tunnel after a live video on Facebook went viral in which Jade Delphine Tomé, a South African hair industry entrepreneur living in Portugal, advocated for the reopening of hair salons in SA under strict regulations.

Tomé's quest has led to advocate Carlo Viljoen and associates at Victor Online Legal Consultancy joining her and applying for an urgent court interdict allowing the industry to reopen, arguing that it has put a financial strain on many hairdressers.